


Bathed in Fire

by neosaiyanangel



Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Dragons, Ending Ichigo/Orihime, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Secret Society, dragon slaying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:00:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27595847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neosaiyanangel/pseuds/neosaiyanangel
Summary: Orihime has trouble after Hueco Mundo and the various questions that Ulquiorra struggled with. It brings up her own questions on life and the continuous cycles of death and rebirth.At the same time, something stirs to the south. She’ll have to come to terms with those thoughts and her own inner strength as she takes on a mantle all had thought was lost to the void: dragon slayer.
Relationships: Inoue Orihime/Kurosaki Ichigo, Shun Shun Rikka & Inoue Orihime, Ulquiorra Cifer/Inoue Orihime
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7
Collections: Heart Attack Exchange 2020





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FawnOfAnxiety (ForeverNerd93)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForeverNerd93/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so many plans for this fic. Alas, the two week deadline killed my minor plot points. You can see hints of it all, though, so if you feel like psychoanalyzing you might figure out some of what’s going on!

“And now, here’s Sakura Miyamoto with the news!”

The newsanchor adjusted her hair ever-so-slightly as the camera cut to her. Looking straight into the camera, she said, “Officials in the Okinawa Prefecture have expressed concern at what may have been a foreshock for an oncoming earthquake. There have been signs of new volcanoes forming under the crust at the edges of many uninhabited islands in the prefecture. Experts say-”

_Click_!

The tv died as the power was shut off. A sigh was the only thing that broke the silence of the apartment now.

Orihime sat, watching the blank screen, wondering if something similar was reporting about their adventures in Hueco Mundo to the people of Soul Society. She doubted it. It seemed like a really bummer place to live.

...Everyone ended up there. Including her brother. And then everyone that died there ended up on Earth. A never-ending cycle…

It left her with the question of...why? What was the point of going? Keeping moving forward, only to die and end up worse off in your next life.

Was this what Ulquiorra had been reaching for? An explanation for the cycle? It was a question that she had thought she’d known.

But…

Orihime shook it off.

“Are you okay?”

She looked towards her dresser to where she knew the voice had come from. Her hairpin sparkled even from where she sat.

She smiled as she replied, “No. Er, wait! I mean yes! I’m fine!”

“Don’t fuckin’ lie to us!” Her hairpin flashed as her friends came to life. Tsubaki floated aggressively, finger pointed angrily at her, as the rest of the Shun Shun Rikka sat on the dresser. He growled, “We can feel how messed-up you are right now. That junk with that Aizen guy really fucked with your head.”

“Why do you feel the need to hide it from us, Orihime?” Shun-ō asked.

She looked between Tsubaki and the rest of them and sighed. “I...I just…”

“It’s okay. You can tell us,” Lily quietly said. The rest nodded in agreement.

“...No. It’s fine. I’m fine.” Orihime clenched her fist. “I’m just...still recovering from Aizen and his plan. That’s all.”

“Fuckin’ liar!” Tsubaki snapped.

“Tsubaki…” Orihime bit her lip but said nothing else.

“...Whatever. When you feel like bein’ on the same page as us, let us know.” Tsubaki landed on the dresser with the rest of the Shun Shun Rikka. “We’ll be here with ya.”

“Always, and forever,” Shun-ō agreed. “We’re a part of you just as you’re a part of us.”

“I...yeah.” Orihime closed her eyes, not feeling up for looking at them. She felt them recede back into her hairpins.

She waited a moment before breathing out a sigh. Then, her body feeling heavy as lead, she got up from the table to begin getting ready for school.

* * *

Orihime felt...off. The walk to school was the same as normal. Her morning routine had been the same as normal.

Things should have been back to normal. Things with Aizen had been finished. It was all over and done with. All her friends, loved ones, everyone was safe. Ichigo, was safe. The world was safe. They were back in school, back with all their friends and family. Back to nice, simple, regular old life.

She should be happy. She _was_ happy. But...but at the same time…

Things were just...

“Orihime!” She looked up from the sidewalk. Across the street was Ichigo, who was waving her over. “Oy! Orihime! C’mere.”

Orihime tried to shake off the feeling as she crossed the street, almost forgetting to check for traffic as she did so. Waving as she raced the oncoming car, she hopped up on the sidewalk with a small shout.

“Hiyah!” Orihime made an exaggerated karate chop motion. “I have made it!”

“Uh, yeah.” Ichigo shook his head. “Anyway, Orihime. I have a question for you.”

“I did my homework early and I’m willing to tutor you on it!” she exclaimed.

Ichigo gave her a flat look. “...No. I was gonna ask you if you wanted to get some ice cream or somethin’ after school.”

“Oh! Uhm…” Orihime thought about it for a second. “You, me, Chad, Tatsuki-”

“No. Just...us. The two of us.”

Orihime thought harder on it. “Just you and me?”

“...Yes.” Ichigo looked like he was having some sort of trouble.

“Hmmmmm…” Did she want ice cream? Ichigo seemed like he really, really wanted ice cream. At the same time, it was kinda cold out. Finally deciding, she shook her head. “No thanks! Maybe when it’s warmer.”

Ichigo’s lip twitched downwards. “Ah. Okay.”

“Ah! Don’t be sad!” Orihime waved her arms akimbo. “It’s just too cold! I would fr-r-r-eeze if I got ice cream!”

Ichigo chuckled and shook his head. “Yeah, I get that.” He suddenly grabbed her by the shoulder and said, “I hope you’ll always be you, Orihime.”

“Eh?” Orihime chuckled nervously. “Aren’t I always me? Wait!” She gasped. “Is there ANOTHER me wandering around?!”

“No. There isn’t. There’s only one of you. One perfectly unique you.”

Something clicked with Orihime. She asked suddenly, “Ichigo! Are you okay?”

Ichigo blanched. “I-”

“Oyyyyy!”

The two of them looked down the street. To Orihime’s surprise, Tatsuki, Keigo, and Chizuru were grouped together across the Intersection of Doom from herself and Ichigo.

Chizuru shouted, hands around her mouth like a megaphone, “You two are gonna be laaaaaate~ if you don’t hurry uuuuuup~”

Orihime glanced at her cell phone and gasped. Chizuru was right!

“C’mon!” Orihime grabbed onto Ichigo’s wrist. Ignoring his cry of confusion, she braced herself before jumping clean into the busy intersection. Using her stellar timing, she danced and dodged through the traffic. A few near-collisions later saw her bouncing to a sudden stop on the sidewalk next to the three classmates. Ichigo fell to the ground. If Orihime didn’t know better, she’d think his soul had left his body!

But that would be ridiculous now. After all, he wasn’t standing next to her in his Shinigami clothes!

“I think you killed him,” Chizuru chuckled.

“I’m...not dead…” Ichigo sputtered quietly. It was something that could have still been debated, though.

“You two are weird,” Keigo said, shaking his head. He waved his arm. “Let’s hurry up and get to school.”

“Let’s do it,” Tatsuki said more seriously than warranted. She looked across the street suddenly before she said, “Let’s go!” She grabbed Orihime by her arm and began dragging her in the direction of school.

Orihime barely resisted even as she accidentally dropped Ichigo to the ground. As Tatsuki dragged her, Orihime looked back at where Tatsuki had seemed to see something.

They turned the corner fast, but Orihime thought she saw something.

Was that...

...A lizard…?


	2. Chapter 2

The day had been...average. Nothing good or bad about it. It was nothing special. Nothing to help distract Orihime from her questions.

She breathed a sigh as she walked down the street from the school. She hadn’t felt up to cheering for Tatsuki in the match that day. Orihime just wanted to...sleep? Something?

A flash of red ahead of her made her pause. She looked around; the streets were empty. Save for whatever that had been in the side alley.

Was it another Hollow? It wouldn’t be a problem unless it sneak-attacked her. On the attack!

Orihime rested her hands on her hairpins and summoned Tsubaki. He materialized on her shoulder, looking in the same direction as her.

“There’s definitely somethin’ there,” Tsubaki confirmed. “Now, the question is if your measly ‘morals’ will get in the way of stompin’ it into the dirt?”

“I don’t have morals for Hollows,” Orihime said sternly, tensing and slowly inching forward towards the side alley.

“What about that Ulquiorra guy?”

She stopped short, then bit her lip. “I…”

Tsubaki had been looking at her, but his head snapped forward. “Look!”

Orihime looked up to see...the lizard?

It looked like the lizard she’d seen earlier. Red scales, a strange overbite, webbed claws, slitted eyes…

...Except this was _big_ . The flash that she’d seen earlier had been maybe the size of a housecat. _This_ lizard was the size of a trashcan! The scales were glinting strangely now, its throat bulging-

“Move it!” Tsubaki smacked her in the face, unbalancing her enough to nearly fall completely over. She took two awkward steps to the side to get her balance back.

Before she could protest, a flash of something big and hot flew by her face. Something behind her exploded. Turning, she realized that whatever the lizard had done had blown up a transformer. The neighborhood was cloaked in shadow now. It didn’t distract her from the strange mist that seemed to flow from the blown transformer.

She looked back to where the lizard had been. _Was still_. It was huffing in the mist. Its scales were glowing, then stretching. In front of her eyes it ballooned with muscle and hardened scales. It sat on its haunches and roared, spouts of fire spitting from its nostrils. Something from its back spread out like a wondrous kite of some sort.

 _Wings_. It was spreading wings!

“Is that a fuckin’ _dragon_?!” Tsubaki exclaimed.

“It looks like it!” Orihime said, excited. Wow! A dragon! A real-life dragon! Wait until Ichigo heard about _this_. This would definitely top anything Rukia would be able to brag about! Her expression shifted as she realized it was now bigger than a dumpster and looking right at her. “Uhm…”

“Now’s a good time to go split that thing in two!” Tsubaki shouted. He started his attack, wings sharpening as he streaked through the air.

Orihime looked at the dragon and couldn’t help but to think...was it trapped in the cycle too? Did it have a family? What if-

Tsubaki slowed, then aborted his attack as the dragon tried to rake claws against his side. He dodged hard into the side of the street wall.

“Oy! Could you maybe _do somethin’_ besides standing there gawking? Like maybe _run_?” Tsubaki growled, sparing a glance at Orihime.

Orihime stopped before shaking her head as the dragon landed back on all fours. “No! I’m not going to let it hurt anyone!”

“Well then, in that case why not- _AGH_!” Tsubaki bounced against the sidewalk as the dragon’s swipe connected. It seemed to then ignore him in favor of Orihime. Its throat bulged again, and this time Orihime saw the fireball coming.

“Saten Kisshun!” she cried out, certain that she would need all the strength she had to hold off the dragon. Baigon, Hinagiku, and Lily all came out and formed the shield around her. The blast hit the shield and blew out around it. The heat was intense; she was certain some of her precious hair had been burned off! The scent of ozone washed over her as the heat finally dissipated.

Orihime breathed a sigh of relief. Then she screamed, falling backwards, as the dragon jumped on the shield. She found herself trapped by it as it slammed into the shield above her again and again. The shield began to crack at the pressure.

“Tsubaki!” she cried out. There was no escape. Her only hope was that Tsubaki could…

...Could what? She didn’t want to kill this dragon even with how much it clearly wanted to eat her. He couldn’t kill it. The same churning thoughts were beginning to race in her head again. It was nearly suffocating.

With a solid shriek, the dragon stomped once more. The shield finally shattered underneath it. The light scattered and Orihime found herself trapped underneath the dragon.

Saliva dripped down the dragon’s maw onto the sidewalk next to Orihime. The pavement sizzled where it fell, leaving no question on how hot its mouth was. She kicked at its belly, trying to get it off of her as it raised its head, throat bulging-

“ **GrrrrrAAAAAAAAH**!” It fell to the side as a blade of light slid into its side, slicing off a wing as it went. The fireball practically fell out of its mouth and exploded right in front of its face. Its head whipped backwards into the wall as it clearly felt the shockwave from it.

“Get up!” Tsubaki barked as he swung back around from his assault. “It isn’t dead.”

“Right!” Orihime hopped to her feet. “I’m glad you’re not hurt.”

“‘Hurt’ is relative,” Tsubaki noted. “Like the dragon? He’s hurt.”

Orihime’s heart tore a little at the fact that the dragon was suffering now. It was a living creature that hadn’t done anything wrong. The only thing she’d seen it do was destroy the transformer, and for all she knew they could’ve had a blood vendetta!

“I don’t…” Orihime rubbed her arm. “I don’t want to hurt it.”

“So you’ll let it trample all over us?” Tsubaki asked.

“No! Not you! I just don’t want…”

“Sometimes you gotta make a choice, Orihime.” Tsubaki’s voice was calmer. The concern was clear. “Sometimes it’s you or them.”

“It might just be hungry!” Orihime said desperately. “We just need to give it some pocky!”

“Will you just-”

Orihime didn’t hear what he said. Her entire world was sent spinning as something slammed into her side. She hit the wall hard. Slowly slumping down the wall, she was dazed. It wasn’t until a claw settled onto her chest that she realized she was in trouble.

The dragon’s throat bulged as it looked at her, slitted eyes full of rage and hate-

Something exploded. It took a second for Orihime to realize that it wasn’t her head that exploded. She looked up to see that now the dragon was headless. Something had blown its head clean off!

Instead of bleeding in a gorey pile, there was just a void where its head had been. Wispy smoke drifted out of the hole. Then, like a dream, the entire dragon poofed in a ball of mist. The acrid smell and the destruction around her were now the only indicators that anything had happened.

Orihime looked around, trying to figure out who had saved her.

Dramatically, cape waving in the wind, was what looked like a knight. Their armor didn’t look the best besides the shiny golden - and smoking - footwear. Orihime was pretty sure it was called either a sabaton or a saibaman. They didn’t have anything beyond a shield on them.

“Oy! Thanks!” Orihime waved her arms. “You saved me!”

“I’m sorry.”

Orihime blinked, confused. That voice...it couldn’t be…?

The knight took off their helmet and Orihime gasped.

“It looks like I have a lot to explain to you,” Chizuru said, holding the helmet to her side.

Tsubaki stared. “Okay, what the _fu-“_


	3. Chapter 3

“Here.” Chizuru set down a cup of tea in front of Orihime. It was the kind that she liked in the cute little duckie cup that said ‘You’re the sweet tea!’. It always distracted Orihime in the ‘aww, that’s adorable!’ way.

“It’s just  _ so cute _ !” Orihime couldn’t help but to gush. She traced a finger along the edge of the lip. “Awwwww~”

“Oh, my precious Orihime…!” Chizuru rounded the table and wrapped her arms around Orihime, rubbing against her chest per normal. The hand that was around her side kept brushing the side of her breast. Again, classic Chizuru. “My dear, precious Hime-chan!”

“Chi-chan! Now isn’t the time to coddle her,” Chizuru’s mother said as she walked in. Contrary to her words in her hands were cookies which she set down in front of Orihime.

A taller woman, her dark brown hair was done up in a bun while she wore a traditional green and purple kimono. Why she was always dressed up Orihime didn’t know. She just always was. While she normally had a cheery smile on her face, now it was all serious business. There was a toothpick in her mouth that she was chewing on incessantly.

“I, ah…” Orihime settled her hands back into her lap once Chizuru let go of her. Deciding to get right to the point, she asked, “That was a dragon?”

“Yup! A living, fire-breathing dragon,” Chizuru noted as she sat down on her side of the table. Chizuru’s mother also sat down across from Orihime.

“You say it so obviously!” she complained back at Chizuru.

“They’re more common than you think,” Chizuru’s mother said gruffly, the toothpick shifting in her mouth. “They aren’t all the same, either. Categorization of ‘dragon’ has so many subsets under it it’s mindboggling.”

“So dragons...are real? All the stories?”

“Yes.” Chizuru took a cookie and ate it in two bites. “They’re real. All the stories are real.”

Chizuru’s mother butted in, “Dragons can breathe all sorts of things besides fire, by the way: ice, lightning, plasma, poison...it all depends on what disaster they were born from. Same goes for their colors and scale strength.”

“Huh? Disaster they were born from?” Orihime asked. “Chizuru’s mother, I don’t understand.”

Chizuru’s mother puckered her lips. “My name is Yuri.”

“Oh. Uh, Yuri, I don’t understand.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to. Your brother, bless his soul, did you a disservice taking you from your parents,” Yuri said. “Your parents were bad, to be sure - all of us in the Circle knew - but they were also the best dragon slayers we had.”

“Dragon slayers?” Then it clicked. “You knew my parents?”

Yuri nodded. “Yes. Violent lot that could behead a Grand Dragon in the blink of an eye.” She shook her head. “They should’ve never had children. They simply weren’t built for being parents.”

“So my relatives...that pay for my living expenses…?”

“They’re part of the Circle as well. They took care of you in spite of you showing no powers, so don’t go down that road of them only holding out for you developing them!” Yuri said before Orihime could even think any of that.

Her head was spinning. This was all  _ so much _ . They were rushing like they’d never had to explain this sort of thing before, like it was all so obvious!

Outwardly, Orihime said, “Oh.” Going back to her previous question, she asked, “Dragon slayers? My parents were dragon slayers?”

“Yes. The longest unbroken line of dragon slayers in the world.” Yuri pulled the toothpick from her mouth and set it on the table. “The powers ebb and flow in the world. Being able to slay a dragon is a hefty task that requires one heck of an alignment of luck and karma to even get the power to do so. For a line as long as your family’s? Unthinkable. Yet, here it is.” She sighed. “Here  _ you _ are.”

“But…” Orihime thought for a second. “...But I don’t have dragon slaying powers.”

“Your hairpin summons, Hime-chan,” Chizuru said gently. “They aren’t soul reaper powers. They’re not Hollow powers. They’re manifestations of your dragon slaying powers.”

“What?!” Orihime sputtered, “But, but they’re for fighting Hollows!”

“Ha! Hollows…” Yuri leaned forward and tapped her finger on the table. “Let me tell you a thing or two about ‘Hollows’ and those Soul Reaper folks.” There was a sharp glint in her eye as she complained, “They all are involved in their little back-and-forth sputtering fights. Hollows are a dime a dozen and easier to beat than running a mile.

“You’d think that with all the help that the Soul Reapers have that they’d be able to spare some for other people that need help, like us and the witches. But do they?” Orihime jumped as Yuri suddenly slammed her fists into the table. “Hell no! Too busy with their cliques to help the living. So we keep to ourselves and they keep to themselves.”

“I didn’t even know about them until Ichigo started getting involved,” Chizuru said.

“They’re footnotes,” Yuri grumbled. “They’re meaningless to our fight against dragons.”

“So, why fight them?”

Yuri and Chizuru looked at Orihime, confused. “What?”

“Why fight the dragons?” Orihime asked again. “Why not let them live their lives free from human interference?” The other two looked confused for a moment before Yuri burst out laughing. A bit put out, Orihime asked, “What’s so wrong about that?”

“Oh, you sweet summer child.” Yuri shook her head.

“I was born in September,” Orihime corrected.

“No, what I mean is that you’re so adorably innocent.” Yuri looked at her daughter. “No wonder you have a thing for her! I thought it was mostly looks. She’s definitely your type. It’s a shame that you couldn’t get together like you would’ve before.”

“What does that mean?” Orihime asked, again lost.

“I’ll explain that after I explain about dragons,” Yuri said. “Though I think Chizuru might want to take that topic up herself.”

For the first time in a long time, Chizuru actually seemed nervous. Before Orihime could press the topic, Yuri began.

“Dragons. Mythical, unyielding forces of nature. There are tales of various types of dragons from around the world. Quetzalcoatl, hydra, Western, Oriental...every region seems to have their own type. For good reason!

“You see…” Yuri’s finger suddenly lit up. She swiftly drew in the air a small diagram. “Dragons are born from natural phenomena. Disasters, if you would.” The first picture portrayed something exploding and a small red lizard appearing in the smoke.

“The greater the calamity, the stronger the dragon.” The second picture was a tsunami hitting the shore. From the swirling frothy water a long, serpentine blue dragon flew up, flying by unknown means.

“They seek out destruction in the world. They feed off of it.” The next picture was of a dragon destroying something with lightning breath. It feasted on the strange mist that formed and grew.

“Don’t consider them alive; they aren’t. There’s nothing ‘living’ about them beyond their drive to destroy and consume. To pity them is to pity something as inanimate as a loaf of bread.” For some reason, there was a literal loaf of bread in the next picture.

“I know you didn’t want to hurt that dragon,” Chizuru said, a small smile on her face. “I know you don’t like hurting anything or anyone. Don’t feel that way about dragons.”

“I…” Orihime’s fists clenched. “I can’t say for sure if you’re right or not. All I have is your word for it.”

“They don’t reproduce. They don’t appear to care about anything beyond destroying. The only thing that stops them from hurting people for their own gain is us.” Yuri frowned. “It’s taken a lot of hard work by those of us in the Circle to bring society to where it is today.”

“What is ‘the Circle’? Is it a club?” Orihime couldn’t keep the frustration out of her voice with that question.

“It’s what those of us in the dragon slaying business refer to ourselves as. A circle, unbroken by force or anything else, that winds around itself. No beginning of our mission, no end of our mission. Just the mission.”

“No beginning...or end…” Orihime swallowed. It was like asking about what life was about. There was no beginning or end. Just the trudging middle where nothing actually happened.

“The mission is to control the dragon population.” Yuri picked her toothpick back up. “The fewer dragons there are, the more stable humanity’s existence is.”

“That’s why you don’t see dragons anymore. Why they’re considered a myth.” Chizuru chuckled. “We’ve all done a pretty good job at containing them, eh, Hime-chan? Of course...” she scratched her head “I probably would be better if we’d gotten together like we were supposed to.”

That brought them back to the statement from earlier. “Why would we have gotten together?”

“I was supposed to be your squire,” Chizuru admitted with a chuckle. “Backing you up when you needed it.”

“Squire?” Orihime blinked. “Why would you just be a squire? You totally defeated that dragon earlier!”

“Dragon slayers...they aren’t common.” Chizuru bit her lip. “My powers? Pathetic in the face of a true dragon slayer. In fact…”

“...There  _ are _ no dragon slayers around now,” Yuri finished for her.

“Whhhaaaaaaat?” Orihime bounced up onto the table. “Then who’s stopping all the dragons?! And...why do you need dragon slayers then?” she asked, connecting some frayed loose ends. “It seems like you have a handle on alllllllll of the dragon slaying!”

“You don’t seem to understand,” Yuri grumbled flatly. “Dragons are born from calamities. The bigger the disaster, the more powerful the dragon. We can handle these smaller dragons just fine. Big ones? Hurricanes, typhoons, earthquakes...those many of us squires die trying to defeat before they move on to the big times. That’s when  _ you _ ” she pointed at Orihime “come in.”

“So, my powers are supposed to be for slaying dragons?” Orihime confirmed.

“Yup. One hundred percent,” Yuri confirmed.

Orihime chewed her lip for a moment. “But...I’m not that powerful. And…” she looked over at Chizuru “...Did you just become my friend so you could stay close to me? Because if I had powers we would be teammates?”

“It’s a little more involved than ‘teammates’,” Yuri chortled as Chizuru flinched as if she’d been hit.

“Hime-chan! Did you really-do you really think that little of me?!” Chizuru cried. “I  _ love _ you! You’re so smart, and beautiful, inside and out, and precious and adorable and  _ cute _ -”

“The truth is, initially, yes,” Yuri said bluntly, busting through Chizuru’s gushing. “We stayed close just in case.”

“But I love you beyond that!” Chizuru boldly declared, jumping across the table and knocking the plate of cookies off to hug Orihime. “My beloved Hime-chan~”

“As for powerful, I think it’s more you’re doing it a little wrong.” Yuri chuckled at Orihime’s look. “You have an axe that you’re trying to use like a pair of scissors. Sure, you can technically manage it. But why use your powers in a way they weren’t intended to be used for?” Her gaze darted to Orihime’s hair clips. “Let’s take a look at your powers.”

“Shun Shun Rikka?” Orihime couldn’t help but put her hands to her hair clips.

“I’m not going to  _ eat _ them,” Yuri complained. “I just want to see them!”

“Tsubaki? Lily? Shun-”

“Relax, will ya? You don’t have to individually call us out like that!” Tsubaki grumbled as they all took form around her.

“Interesting…” Yuri murmured as Chizuru fell backwards away from them. “They’re just blobs of light with wings!”

“Blobs of light with wings?!” A vein in Tsubaki’s head throbbed. “Ex _ cuse _ me, lady!?”

“I can hear it saying something, but I have no idea what it is!” Yuri said excitedly.

“Oh my g-HELLO! HI! I’M FREAKIN’ TSUBAKI, YOU WITHERED CORPSE!”

“It sounds like jingling bells!” Yuri giggled. “How adorable.”

“Can I hit her? Just a little?”

“Tsubaki, be nice!”

Yuri blinked, then asked, “Tsubaki? Did you say ‘Tsubaki’?”

“Yes…?”

“Interesting…” Yuri chewed on the toothpick. “It’s just, the greatest squire to have ever existed was named Tsubaki. He died 237 years ago next week!”

“Uh-huh.” Tsubaki gave Shun-ō a flat look even as the others practically fell over laughing. “I couldn’t have been a dragon slayer?”

“Aw, don’t be like that. I’m sure she didn’t mean it the way you’re taking it!” Shun-ō laughed.

“Whatever.”

“So then…” Yuri whipped out a spyglass from her robes and shoved it right in Hinagiku’s face. “Hmmmm…” She looked around Hinagiku’s face at Orihime. “This looks like one end of a guard.”

“A guard? Well, I mean, he does help form a shield-”

“No, I mean a sword guard. Like on the handle.”

Orihime blanched. “Eeeeeeh?!” Nervously laughing, she waved her hands in the negative. “Nope! No inanimate objects here! These are my friends, Shun Shun Rikka.”

“They can be your friends  _ and _ your weapon,” Yuri said. Her finger glowed again. This time, it grew brighter and brighter until Orihime had to cover her eyes. When she was able to look again, she saw that Yuri was now holding a knife. “This is Bob. He’s my knife.”

“Ah. Uhm, hello, Bob,” Orihime said, bowing slightly.

“Tch! Like that can compete with us,” Tsubaki boasted. “That little thing? HA!”

“The fact that you have six that seem to come together is...strange. Very strange. In fact,” Yuri flicked her wrist and Bob vanished, “I’ve never seen it before! Normally it’s one to one. Rarely two to one. But  _ six _ ? Crazy.”

“Come together?”

“Into your weapon.” She played with the toothpick more. “I hear they have different powers in different combinations.”

“Yes! They do!” Orihime said cheerily.

“Only one of them is offensive.”

“Yes…?”

“So, what that and the fact that I saw a guard would mean is that they come together into one form.” Yuri chuckled. “Did you want some help forming your weapon?”

“I, ah…?” Orihime didn’t know how to respond to that.

“Here. Let me try.” Yuri darted forward then, grabbing both Shun-ō and Ayame in her hands.

“Ah! Hey! Be gentle!” Shun-ō shouted.

“Tinkling bells~” Yuri cheered as she started examining the two spirits closely. “Hm...okay. I think I see…” She shoved them into each other, practically forcing them to kiss. “If I put you here…”

“I don’t think-” Orihime cut herself off as the two suddenly poofed into what looked like a sword hilt. “...What just happened?”

“This is the base of your weapon.” She looked Shun-ō and Ayame over. “Hm. Looks like a sword of some sort.”

“AAAHHHHHH!” Orihime snatched the two back from Yuri and cradled them. “Are you okay?! Knock once for yes, two for no!”

“We’re fine,” Ayame’s quiet voice said from the hilt.

“Yeah! Somehow. Though I think my lip’s bloody now,” Shun-ō added.

“Oh! Good. Uhm…” Orihime looked at the rest of Shun Shun Rikka.

“Ohhhh no! You aren’t gettin’ me to shove my face in someone’s butt!” Tsubaki growled.

“Is there a way for them to do it themselves?” Orihime asked, hoping to save them from being manhandled.

“Yes! Of course! Here…” Yuri poked the handle in Orihime’s hand. It poofed back into Shun-ō and Ayame. “They should be able to lead the rest into forming your weapon.”

“She’s right,” Shun-ō said. He waved at the rest of them. “Here! Come together, everyone!”

“Nnnnngh...fine!” Tsubaki closed in with the others around Shun-ō. “I guess if it’ll actually do somethin’ it won’t be a waste of time.”

“Okay. Ready?” Shun-ō and Ayame both grabbed the rest of them. They all started glowing. “Feel that?”

“Yeah. I do! Huh,” Tsubaki said even as he lost his form.

All of them flashed several times, their forms fading into the light. Yuri and Chizuru had to cover their eyes, but Orihime was able to watch them. Watch as they all came together hovering over her hands to form…

“...That’s supposed to be a sword?” Chizuru asked flatly once she was able to see.

Chizuru’s confusion wasn’t a slight. They  _ had _ come together to make a hilt, a guard, a pommel, and other words that Orihime didn’t know. It was obviously supposed to be a bladed weapon.

...But the blade. It was a thin curved thing that had almost no substance. It was like it was only the sharp part of the blade with nothing behind it!

“That’s stranger still!” Yuri exclaimed. “Could you hold it in front of me?”

“Okay…?” Orihime carefully picked up the sword and held it up.

Yuri pulled out her spyglass and looked closely. “Ahhh, I see.”

“What?” Chizuru asked. “What’s wrong with Orihime’s weapon?”

“A piece is missing,” Yuri noted as she shifted her gaze to her daughter.

“What piece?” Orihime pressed.

“...I dunno,” Yuri answered cheerily.

Orihime and Chizuru facefaulted. Recovering first, Chizuru asked, “You  _ don’t know _ ?!”

“Nope!” Yuri broke her spyglass down again. “It could be anything! Another little faerie, conviction, self-respect...really, it could be  _ anything _ .” She flicked Tsubaki’s blade, making him yelp a noise that sounded like reverberating metal. “This is dangerously sharp, but without the solid piece to hold it it won’t really be able to cut anything.”

“You don’t know until you try!” Chizuru defended.

While the mother and daughter began bickering, Orihime looked down at the sword.

It was an interesting design. Iron-wrought flowers twirled around the hilt with spirals rounding the side. More decorated the pommel and reached up along the blade, even as thin as it was. The entire thing was blue and white, like it was covered in a glowing coating. It looked like a misshapen fencing sword.

Orihime frowned. A piece was missing. What was it?

“ANYWAY!” Yuri suddenly said loudly, cutting off Chizuru’s complaints. Orihime hid her frown; there was no point in worrying Chizuru. The mother looked sternly at Orihime. “I don’t think it’s coincidence that your powers have manifested now.”

“Huh?” Orihime asked, “What do you mean?”

Yuri sighed. It seemed like whatever it was weighed on her. “There’s a problem to the south…”


	4. Chapter 4

_ Can you hear me? Orihime…? _

Orihime’s eyes opened like a shot. She looked around for…

...For what? What had that even been? It sounded...familiar.

She shook her head and laid back down on her side.

Orihime’s stomach roiled as she laid in the cot on the ship Yuri had reserved for them. Yuri didn’t explain much after the break-down of dragons. All she knew was that there was something going on down south that all squires available were called for to deal with.

Well, not just squires. Her, too. The last dragon slayer.

She closed her eyes. Dragon slayer. Yuri seemed to be holding her in some kind of high esteem based on that. Orihime hadn’t thought much of Chizuru’s family before. They seemed like a traditional stay-at-home mother and her work body husband with their 2 children. Orihime hadn’t seen anything beyond that. It spoke to the family’s ability to hide a secret.

Orihime swallowed as she wondered once again...did they only care about her because of her heritage? Chizuru had protested...but again, they were good at keeping secrets. Secrets never made her happy. Yet everyone seemed to have secrets they kept from her.

Orihime’s heart suddenly panged. For some reason, that had made her think of Ulquiorra. He didn’t have any secrets to keep. He was all him, searching for the reasons why with no reticence. Searching for a purpose, for meaning.

_ He reached out to her, his gaze seeming to look for something _ -

She shook her head free of the memory. It wouldn’t do any good to once again get lost in it. Wondering why…

Why had he given in at the end? Asking for the final blow? Right when he seemed to finally start to understand everything? Why had it all been...so hopeless? The never-ending cycle that Ulquiorra had gotten pulled back into. Was it all really as pointless as he seemed to think?

AGH! She’d thought it wouldn’t do any good to think about it and she did it anyway!

Orihime ruffled her hair and very deliberately looked out the window in the little room that was her cabin. The Philippine Sea was as active as her stomach, crashing against her window in regular intervals.

It would be fine. She would, would snap out of whatever was going on with her. They would beat this dragon and get back to everyday life.

Where nothing happened day in and day out until you died.

She shoved her head under her pillow to try and drown out her thoughts.

It didn’t even drown out the sound of the sea.

* * *

“Yuri!”

Orihime, Chizuru, and Yuri had disembarked the ship onto a strange little deserted island. At least, it was deserted in that it didn’t have any permanent structures. There were temporary buildings that had people bustling in and out, and there were other ships that were off-shore. But none of it looked lived-in. It looked like it had all been put up recently.

Their attention was quickly caught by the yell. The three turned to see a man walking up to them. He was tall, almost as tall as Kenpachi, with an eyepatch too! His hair was wild, streaked brown and white almost like a pattern. His face was grizzled and Orihime would swear his teeth were sharp like a bear too! His clothes were of a more Western bent: jeans, a wool sweater, and tan boots.

“Yo~” Yuri walked up to the man and gut-punched him as he opened his mouth to say something. As he doubled up in pain, she cackled, “Pussy! Act more like a man!”

“Maybe if you weren’t such a frozen cunt I would warm up!” the man wheezed in return.

“Uncle Ezio!” Chizuru gushed as she raced over to him. She helped him straighten back up. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Okay is relative right now,” he grumbled. Thumbing towards a nearby island, he said, “That’s the thing right there.”

“Huh?” Orihime looked out to see nothing beyond the island. “I only see that island.”

“It  _ is _ the island,” Yuri explained. “Probably even more than that.”

“Whaaaaat? Really?!” Orihime looked at Chizuru. “Can dragons be that big?”

“Kaizu are real,” Yuri said, irritated. “They’re dragons pretty much. We call them ‘Grand Dragons’.”

“Huh.” Orihime began asking, “When do you-”

A pang in her chest made her pause. Then, it was again, but harder. What was that?

“Can you guys feel that?” she hazarded.

“Feel...what?” Chizuru asked.

“What does it feel like?” Ezio asked seriously.

“It feels like…” she waited a second for it to happen again. “It feels like there’s a lump in my chest.”

“Oh shit…” Ezio covered his face. “We don’t have enough time!”

“It’s coming,” Yuri clarified. “The dragon. Dragon slayers can sense the birth of a dragon if they’re close enough.”

“How do we stop something so big?!” Orihime couldn’t help but to ask as a tremor matched the pang in her chest.

“Chip at it until nothing is left,” Yuri said. She tapped a pendent against her chest. Chizuru did the same. In a small flash they were covered in slightly grimy armor, complete with shields.

“Everyone!” Ezio barked loudly. “To your stations!”

“But-but not everyone’s here!” one spindly man complained. He was slugged in the shoulder by a nearby woman.

“Don’t go soft on us, Drew,” she growled.

“Easy for you to say, Sheila!” he growled right back. “You have armor! All I can do is fly.”

“Ah! That reminds me.” Another tremor caused her words to shake slightly. She flicked her wrist and Bob was there. “You’ll be partnering with Chizuru, Orihime. We can fly. You can’t.”

“Fly? I-”

Her words were robbed from her as all the breath in her body was sucked out. Her head snapped to the islands which were now moving. They rose high, and higher, and higher. To its rear small volcanoes rose from the ocean, lava flowing freely down their sides.

And, in front, the beaked craggy head of a monster appeared. Orihime wouldn’t exactly call it a dragon. This was a monster, with a mane of fiery tentacles and all-black glowing eyes. Its flesh was rocks and its breath was a fiery mist.

“Crap!” Yuri snagged Orihime and raced for the edge of the beach. All along the coast others were doing the same, pairing off and taking off. Yuri said, “I’m sorry to jump this all on you - I thought I’d have time to explain. But I don’t. We need to destroy it now!”

Orihime’s gut twisted. Destroy it. Kill it. Reduce it to mist. Did it really deserve that?

“We can do this!” Chizuru said. “We just need to keep in mind-LOOK OUT!”

Before Orihime could even look, Chizuru was pushing her aside. A question died on her lips as Chizuru shrieked in pain. Orihime then realized that  _ molten rocks _ were falling from the sky. And one had hit Chizuru!

“Are you okay?!” Orihime asked, frantic.

“My-my arm,” Chizuru gasped. Orihime could see that it was blistering and bloody now. Chizuru sighed. “It’s just my luck that I’m out of the fight right before my Hime-chan goes charging in.” Someone who looked all medical-like rushed over. Chizuru gushed, “But now my dearest Orihime can avenge me!”

“I…” Orihime couldn’t respond to that. She wasn’t even sure she was going to hurt the dragon!

“No more time to talk. We need to beat that thing, and fast before it can make landfall,” Yuri said. She quick bent down and kissed Chizuru on the cheek. “Mama loves you. Don’t forget that.”

“Mother…!” Chizuru was clearly choking up but said nothing else. Yuri resumed her march towards the edge of the beach. “Normally I’m paired with Ezio, but now we’ll have to shift tactics.” She held out her hand to Orihime. “Here. I’ll carry you.”

Orihime hesitated to take the hand. She was left with no choice when Yuri grabbed her hand forcefully and growled, “We don’t have time for hesitation! We need to strike and we need to do it now!”

As Orihime rose into the air carried by Yuri, she looked at the dragon sadly.

Maybe they could…?


	5. Chapter 5

“I can’t believe this is happening!” Yuri shouted over the sound of the frothing waves below them. All around in the airspace other squires were paired and flying towards the dragon. “Normally we have a few days…!”

“Maybe it was really really grumpy from waking up?” Orihime suggested.

“No time for dumb jokes,” Yuri growled. “Some of us are about to die.”

“...Yeah. You’re right.” Orihime would’ve slapped her cheeks if she could’ve. It was time to be serious.

“See that couple over there?” Yuri nodded her head towards a couple of women that looked ripped straight from the comics. “Gamora and Nebula. Adopted sisters. They don’t get along at all. And there.” She nodded the other way towards a couple of men who were bickering back and forth. “Dante and Nero. Brothers that loathe each other. But. You know what they loathe more?”

“What?”

“Innocents dying for no good reason,” Yuri said.

“Is there ever a good reason for innocents to die?!” Orihime couldn’t help but to shout. The poor dragon…!

“No. Not that dragons are innocent,” Yuri countered. “You’re being naive, Orihime.” Seeming to shift subjects, she asked, “You got your weapon ready?”

“Oh! Right…” Orihime loosened a hand - somehow she felt so certain that Yuri’s grip would hold - and asked, “Shun Shun Rikka?”

Her hairpins along her hair flashed before they were reduced to simple bobbie pins. Now in her hand was the thin-bladed sword.

“Good. I was afraid that it wouldn’t happen a second time,” Yuri said in a way that made Orihime feel stupid.

“Can I slug her yet?” Tsubaki asked with the tinkle of metal.

“No!” Orihime said. “No slugging.”

“One of them doesn’t like me? Sucks to be them!” Yuri chuckled.

“What happened to ‘no jokes’?” Baigon uncharacteristically asked, peeved.

“I think it’s more than one of them,” Orihime admitted. “You’re a bit...gruff?”

“Ah well. I’m a special brand of asshole.” Yuri suddenly dodged to the side as a molten mass flew by them. “Be ready. There’s gonna be more and more of those as we get closer.”

Orihime nodded. “Right. I think-” Her eyes widened as she realized that Yuri was looking down at her just as a rock was time to hit them. Orihime tried to whip Yuri out of the way but only partially succeeded.

Yuri was sideswiped by the rock. Her solid grip of Orihime weakened. Another rock flew close enough for the heat to scorch. Yuri dropped Orihime with a shout. The air around Orihime seemed to race as she fell down towards the sea. Yuri dove to recover but simply couldn’t.

The cold washed over Orihime as the sea swallowed her whole.

* * *

_ Can _

_ Can you _

_ Hear _

_ Now _

The darkness was pressing against her. It felt like light was filtering down, but all Orihime could see was empty blackness.

_ Hear _

It felt like someone was saying something that she couldn’t quite understand. A muffled voice from nowhere.

_ Orihime _

It sounded...familiar.

A sparkle in the distance caught her attention. It looked so far away…

She reached out for it, her hair flowing around her in the darkness-

Suddenly she was blinded. Light was all around her. She was still choking, now on the far too overwhelming sensation.

“Can you hear me now, Orihime?”

It sounded like a bell had been rung somewhere. It made her open her eyes.

A familiar face, achingly so, now floated with her in the darkness. His green eyes had a strange sparkle to them, one that she’d never seen in them when he was alive. He was smirking in that knowing way she recognized. He was in his second stage with his wings spread wide, though she couldn’t figure out what, exactly, was different. All she could tell was that there  _ was _ something different. He looked more ‘right’, whatever it was.

“Ul...quiorra?” She clasped a hand to her chest. “How…?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted right away. “Not for certain, at least. I’m rather fond of the idea that it was you.”

“Me?” Orihime blinked. She took a moment to process that. “I thought you were lost.

“You called to me. Saved me from oblivion. As a Hollow not destroyed by a Soul Reaper’s weapon, that was my fate. But you stepped in somehow. Pulled me back and into you. 

“I could hear your thoughts, by the way. While I’m as flattered as I can manage to be by your focus on my thoughts on life, your obsession over it is destroying who you are,” he said. Frowning a little, he noted, “That ruins it for me. This strange afterlife with you.”

A light finally went on. “Oh! I know!” She pointed rather accusingly. “You weren’t frowning!”

This time, he was the one that blinked. “What?”

“You weren’t frowning! At all!” She chortled. “I’ve figured it out.”

Ulquiorra watched her before letting out one of his better-than-you sighs. “Still the same…except…” His gaze was sharp. “You need to let go of that big picture in your head. Contemplating the future is one thing. Getting lost in the admittedly pathetic endeavour of life is another entirely.”

“What? But...I mean…” Orihime bit her lip. “I mean, it’s so hard for me to understand. I can’t  _ not _ think of it. I…” Tears welled in her eyes. “It isn’t that simple. Once I saw you die like that, I couldn’t…”

“Then try another exercise. It never worked for me, but it might for you.” He raised a finger in front of his face. “One day. Try to do things one day at a time. I know you know how to do this.”

“...I’ll try.” She hated the thoughts in her head. She was glad someone else hated them too. It didn’t stop the sadness from soaking her soul. She began to openly cry. “I missed you, Ulquiorra.”

He closed his eyes and sighed. “I know.” His eyes opened again, determination solid in his gaze. “I’m here now. That’s what matters.”

Ulquiorra began to glow. The aura was familiar. Now she fully understood; his wings weren’t on his back, but  _ on his shins _ . There was no Hollow hole, and she could see him starting to shrink.

“I’m yours, Orihime. No matter what. I have faith in you even when you don’t have faith in yourself. You're so interesting that I find eternity with you to not be a burden at all.” He reached out his hand. “Are you ready?”

She looked at his hand. It was interesting how something so simple could be so profound.

She tentatively reached out. Then, solidly, she grabbed his hand and they  _ shot out _ -

* * *

“Look out!” Dinah shrieked as Oliver tried to steady their glide. Yuri looked around her at the ocean as she shunshuned about to avoid the extra molten fragments flying about, trying to find any sign of which wave had eaten Orihime.

She cursed to herself. Great. Just great. Not only had she basically killed the last dragon slayer, but the girl was also Chizuru’s friend! Her daughter would never forgive her for letting Orihime die. Not that Yuri wouldn’t blame herself.

Yuri had known the girl wasn’t ready. Her incomplete weapon said as much. But the desperation at facing a Supreme Dragon was simply too much. They needed all the manpower they could get, including an unprepared dragon slayer. It was all they could do to keep going.

And now it was a lost opportunity. With Orihime gone, now they would need to try and hope that their overwhelming numbers would simply outlast the dragon. It was unlikely, but there was no other option.

Yuri almost jumped then as a dark form zipped out from the waves with little fanfare. She tried to follow it but was simply too slow to catch sight of it beyond the blur. It drove itself into the side of the Grand Dragon with enough force to shatter skyscraper glass. The shockwave was intense, and it was only heightened by the dragon’s cries of pain. It pulled away, giving Yuri a solid glimpse of the person.

_ Orihime _ . Yuri breathed a sigh of relief that the girl was alright. There was something different about her, though. She seemed more sure of herself. There were little wings growing out of her shins that seemed to help keep her aloft.

And her sword. The little thing was now a proper cutlass. It was a proper weapon! Yuri was impressed. She was even more impressed as she looked at the Grand Dragon. There was a swathe of craggy scales missing now, lava flowing freely down the injured flesh.

Yuri gave a cry of relief. They could do this!

“Move in!” Yuri barked as loud as she could, pointing towards the injury with Bob. As she shunshun’d in, followed by numerous squires, she smiled.

Orihime was doing her ancestors proud.

* * *

Chizuru was on the ground with the rest of the injured squires. Her arm was severely burned and could likely scar. And by ‘likely’, she meant ‘yes’.

It was fine! She got it defending Hime-chan. It would be a badge of pride!

Speaking of Hime-chan...where was she? Chizuru had been scanning the base of the monstrous dragon and hadn’t seen a sight of her anywhere. Was she okay? Had she gotten hurt?! Maybe she should-

The side of the monster exploded. They all gasped, Chuzuru scanning the injury to see…

Excitedly she cheered. Orihime! She’d made it! How could she tell it was Orihime? She had no idea, really, beyond her being the only one capable of hurting the dragon that badly. The red-haired goddess then began flying up, and up, and up past the clouds and out of her sight.

Chizuru relaxed against the sand as she finally felt like she could.

Orihime could do it. Chizuru believed in her.


	6. Chapter 6

Orihime was trying to stay strong. For Ulquiorra. For Chizuru. For all these people who were counting on her.

She  _ knew _ she could do this. Down in her soul where her friends, Shun Shun Rikka lived. Shun-ō, Tsubaki, Lily, Ayame, Baigon, Hinagiku...and now, she could feel, Ulquiorra. Their confidence in her radiated out like a shining beacon.

She had the power. It was time she used it.

Orihime flew up into the danger zone. The bits of molten rubble that were bursting out of the Grand Dragon’s back were like a dodging minigame of the sort that Tatsuki would use to win bets with people. The heat was increasing dramatically; Orihime could feel some of the smaller hairs on her arms singe off.

Then, somehow, the dragon seemed to actually notice her. She knew it because now the molten masses were  _ aiming _ for her. She had to actively dodge around everything as she went now. Up, down, zig-zag, upside-down, down again…

It felt like it was never-ending. Not surprising considering how big the dragon was.

The momentary lapse in attention was enough to get the drop on her. Now, an entire eyeful of rocks covered in lava were heading right for her.

She didn’t need to shout it. Her full power was in her grasp. All she needed were the words. “Saten Kisshun.”

The handguard glowed brightly as the shield popped up in front of her. The rocks bounced off solidly. The shield cracked a few times, but, thankfully, it held.

Orihime breathed a sigh of relief as she finally came to the shoulders of the Grand Dragon. She was past the debris now in close range of the dragon.

That made her pause. They kept arguing on whether dragons were alive or not...would she be killing something innocent by her actions? Could she live with herself if she did?

She was now face-to-face with the Grand Dragon. It was watching her with a heated gaze.

“Are you alive?” she asked it. “Do you want to live?”

It stood still for a moment. She realized it was  _ comprehending her words _ . It really was alive!

Suddenly her world went spinning. Orihime tumbled through the air, her side burning with heat. She realized that it had been a ploy. The dragon had angled one of its free-flowing tentacles to hit her.

As she was again hit from the side, this time her hip, she concluded two things for certain: dragons were alive no matter what any of the Circle people said, and they weren’t innocent.

Orihime slashed her cutlass a few times, steadying herself with the slashes. Her eyes widened as the shadow of the dragon descended upon her. She looked up in time to see that the dragon was trying to eat her! Its wide maw covered the sky as it bent down to swallow her whole.

She closed her eyes and let it happen.

* * *

Something was wrong.

Yuri had read many, many manuscripts on Grand Dragons and their behaviors. It was a hobby of hers at this point.

Grand Dragons were legendary. They appeared once every few hundred years. It was like clockwork, revenge from the gods for humanity’s hubris.

...But these injuries they were inflicting. They were almost pointless. Besides the slash that Orihime had given it, it was shrugging off everything.

Was this...a step beyond a Grand Dragon? Was this something else  _ entirely _ ? Maybe she really should’ve listened to the girl when she’d mentioned bringing her Soul Reaper boyfriend.

Then, suddenly, the dragon’s head broke the clouds. It seemed to be biting something. The clouds had parted enough that she saw-Orihime! The girl was just floating there,  _ letting  _ the dragon eat her.

What in the world?!

Yuri bit on Bob’s handle. Sparks were flying before his blade extended with the sparks. She pulled her arm back, planning on doing her best to gut it just a little to get it to let her go. This attack was her last-ditch effort. It would hurt her even more than it would the dragon. But she couldn’t let the girl die.

So she zipped forward, dodging between the molten fragments and the other squires trying to injure it. She was aiming for the gap in the scales that Orihime had caused to start her slice. 

Just as she was pushing in to deliver her kamikaze blow, another explosion ripped from above. The dragon was reeling back, making her miss. It made her wonder: what was going on up there

* * *

Heat was all around her. The hot breath of the dragon sucked the air from her own lungs.

That didn’t matter so much. What  _ did _ matter was finding the weak spot.

She summoned a weakened version of her shield. It flickered to live in front of her, giving protection and a light source. Orihime flew forward farther into its mouth as she looked for access to its sinuses or ears.

Ah! There it was! The opening at the back of the throat that led to the nose! Orihime zipped up past the uvula and into the little cavity.

That was where Orihime was lost. She was there...but how could she tell where the weakest part was?

She decided to poke it with her sword. She tested several spots before one let her cutlass sink in far enough.

A sigh of relief escaped her lips. Then a rush of adrenaline as she realized the prodding hadn’t gone unnoticed. The dragon was starting to breathe out more fire. She powered up her cutlass and screamed, “Koten Zanshun Ultra!”

The light grew, enveloping the area as she slashed through-


	7. Chapter 7

The dragon reeled back, seeming to have been hit hard, before it froze. The volcanoes on its back stopped glowing, the lava stopping its flow. The flying molten debris was gone. Life drained out of the Grand Dragon swiftly. Then, like all dragons, it vanished as a mist. The poof was enormous, sending out hurricane-level winds that made Yuri lose course and end up being blown clean to the base island.

She bounced several times against the sand. Abrasions opened up, leaving her blood staining the beach.

Yuri ignored it. There were only two things she cared about at the moment.

“Chizuru!” she screamed, trying to be heard above the still-flowing mist.

“Mama!”

Her head snapped to the right at the faint cry. Yuri forced herself up, scrabbling against the sand as she stumbled through the mist. Through the yelling and screaming around her, the injured and dying making their way back to shore, she searched, following that particular voice.

Finally, she found her daughter. Chizuru was huddled underneath a medic tent, her arm wrapped up in some kind of bandage and salve. Her armor was broken to pieces near her.

Yuri practically fell to pieces at the sight. Now that the threat was over, all she had was what was left. She ducked forward and wrapped Chi-chan up in a hug. She gasped, relief flooding her chest with the knowledge that her _and_ her daughter survived.

“Mama...where’s Hime-chan?”

The question snapped Yuri back to reality.

Yes. That was right. Uraraka and Izuku’s child. Her new responsibility.

“I don’t know,” Yuri admitted.

“ _WHAT_?!” Chizuru pushed against her. “She’s gone!?”

“She went to face the dragon head-on. I think...she’s the one that killed it.”

“You...YOU PROMISED!” Chizuru began to cry angry tears. “You PROMISED she would stay safe! That she would survive! My precious Hime-chan…!”

“I’m sorry.” And she meant it. Her daughter cared so deeply for the girl. It was simply disappointing that she wasn’t able to keep up to protect her from danger.

It was such a shame, really, that Orihime was the last dragon slayer. To be destined to slay dragons was a sad fate in a way. They all had each other, but the danger was ever-present.

She looked around her at her comrades. Drew and Sheila were yelling at each other over something or another. Nebula was alone, staring forlornly at the sea. Yuuri and Viktor were cuddling together, also staring at the sea.

The beach was emptier than it had been before the dragon had awakened. She wasn’t surprised; the molten rocks were only the most obvious problem. Simply being _near_ the dragon could’ve resulted in death for some lacking the dragon slayer powers. In fact, it probably did. This dragon was no joke. _Had been_ no joke.

Yuri snapped back to reality as Chizuru pulled away and began marching towards the shore.

She started, “What are you-”

“I’m going to find Orihime.” She said it so solidly that Yuri almost believed she could.

“Chizuru…” Yuri sighed. “A dragon that strong...and…” She hesitated to bring up seeing Orihime being swallowed. It would’ve been too much for her daughter.

“ _I’m going to find Orihime_.” Chizuru took off.

Yuri watched her daughter leave with a sigh. She remembered the first time she lost someone dear to her to a dragon raid. It would take a little to sink in, but-

“HIME-CHAN!” Chizuru’s scream probably could’ve been heard from the mainland. Yuri looked towards where her daughter seemed to see something that she didn’t.

A blip in the distance that was coming closer. Chizuru rushed towards it before colliding solidly. Then both came back to the beach.

Yuri’s breath caught. It _was_ her. Orihime. And now that she could actually look at her, there was more different than she’d initially taken in.

She was wearing armor. Thin and flexible, it was easily overlooked by it being underneath her clothes. At the same time, she instantly recognized it as something of Orihime’s mother. One of her more basic bits of armor that she conjured from her very soul. The fact that Orihime had the same thing…

A lump formed in her throat.

There was only one thing Yuri could think to do as the two set down in front of her.

She grabbed Orihime by the ear and began reaming her. “How DARE you?! Charging in like that? Letting it EAT you?! _What kind of tactic is that_?!”

“Ah! I’m sorry! I just thought-”

“The fact that you did that shows that you DIDN’T think! How do you think your boyfriend would’ve reacted to being told you died like that?” Yuri asked. “Or what about poor Chi-chan?”

“I...I just wanted to help!” Orihime whined. Her sword had burst into seven lights at that point, each of them giving out their tinkling little voices.

“Well you did! So I can’t be too angry at you.” Yuri let Orihime go. “Just _never_ do that again.”

“I won’t,” Orihime said swiftly.

One of the lights twinkled and Orihime flushed.

“What’s it saying?” Chizuru asked.

“I, uh…” Orihime chuckled self-consciously. “I have a complicated romantic life.”

“How is it complicated? You’re single!” Chizuru said. Then a light seemed to go off. “Unless…” She peered more closely at Orihime. “Is there something going on between you and Tatsuki?”

Several of the lights twinkled then as Orihime gasped and waved her hands defensively.

“What?! No! Nonono, me and Tatsuki are _just friends_ …!”

“Then who…?” A sly grin then crossed her daughter’s face. “Ohhhhh. I get it now.” She nodded. “I need to beat Ichigo to win your hand.”

“Whaaaaaat?!” Orihime balked. “I’m not-I mean, we aren’t-haven’t gotten that far…!”

As the two girls continued their back-and-forth, the lights turning back into Orihime’s hairpins save for the new addition of a hardened shell with a central point on them, Yuri gave a large relieved sigh. She looked up at the sun and just enjoyed the fact that everything had turned out as well as it could’ve.


	8. Epilogue

“Make-up?”

“Check!”

“Cute clothes?”

“Double-check!”

“Matching shoes?”

“Che-erm, oops.” Orihime took off her shoes sheepishly. “I guess I was rushing too much.”

“Gah! Why are you guys being so dramatic about this?” Tsubaki asked as Lily and Shun-ō pulled out the shoe that matched the orphaned one. “He clearly likes you!”

“But, but I need to impress him like in the romance novels!” Orihime said, slipping the shoe on.

“You two are dancing around it too much,” Tsubaki claimed. “Just go up to him and be like ‘Hey, we should go get somethin’ to eat’ and go from there!”

“Can it really be that simple?” Baigon wondered aloud.

“Of course it can!”

“I want to do this right,” Orihime said strongly. “I want to impress him!”

“I don’t understand.” Ulquiorra had been sitting on the dresser simply watching the mayhem take place.

Tsubaki rolled his eyes. “Of course you don’t, you dunce! You’re about as romantic as a chair.”

“It’s okay, Ulquiorra,” Orihime said with a smile. “It’s a little complicated.”

“So silly.” Ulquiorra shook his head. “Tsubaki is right. You don’t need to impress him. It’s pointless.”

“But-!”

“Don’t you ‘but’ us! You know we’re right!” Tsubaki snapped.

“I do have to admit that I’m with them,” Shun-ō agreed.

“Face it. You’re outnumbered,” Tsubaki chortled.

“...Okay. You guys are probably right.” Orihime tried to calm down as she considered taking off her make-up.

“Just get goin’! Go hit on him like he’s never been hit on before,” Tsubaki cheered.

“Right. You’re right!” Orihime pumped her hand. “Yosh!”

As she charged towards the door, she felt the melancholy begin to hit her once more.

She shook it off.

One day at a time. Today, it was the day that she asked Ichigo out. Tomorrow could be worried about then.


End file.
